Best strategies for setting up iPad for elderly person?
I hope to eventually get an iPad 3 for an elderly parent and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it.
Here is what I was thinking:
- get iPad.
- set up iPad using iTunes account that I create from a spare email address I have access to.
- get some iTunes cards via my own account and load it into the new account.
- install apps, fiddle with settings, set up iCloud, possibly load it with photos, etc.
- send iPad to them.
- change email address on the new account to reflect their actual email address.
- Is it correct in that no credit card would need to be entered by them at any point?
- I have tweaked iChat on their laptop to auto-answer incoming video chats. It sounds like there is no such setting on Facetime, right? Is it still pretty easy to accept Facetime calls on the iPad (I've only used it via OS X). From reading some past threads it sounds like there is no way to make a shortcut so that a specific contact could be called in one click (i.e. icon on dock), is that still the case? (a Siri on iPad would help with this)
- I currently do not do much photo sharing via Apple devices. What is the easiest/best way to have them be able to view a gallary of images that one or more people can add things to remotely? Do I have to turn to third-party apps to do this?
- Any other general recommendations on getting a iPad set up for someone (especially the elderly) who are physically far away (and thus who won't get hands-on training from the person setting it up, but from people who are iPad savvy)?
I envision them mainly using it for: video chat, solitaire, email reading (not heavy email composing), light web, photo taking/sharing, etc.
Thanks,
Mac OS X (10.6.7)